Hospital caregivers need quick access to patient information from electronic health record (EHR) systems. They grow frustrated with numerous clicks and a lack of flow for treatment by a team of clinicians, specialists, therapists and others. This is where TransformativeMed steps in, offering software and services to close gaps and streamline information in existing systems, says President and CEO Doug Cusick. Patient data are displayed in a way each caregiver needs, so a provider spends less time organizing and searching. TransformativeMed’s CORE Value Suite embeds in an EHR system and tailors records according to a caregiver’s workflow. Care teams using it on mobile devices can better communicate. Updates occur in real time.

Founded in 2011, TransformativeMed researched how clinicians wanted patient information organized. Caregivers who use the service report notable efficiencies, improved patient care and hours saved from hand-copying and managing digital information. Studies found the software cut in half the number of patients missed on rounds. Health systems gain more value in EHR investments and optimize caregiver productivity, Cusick says.

The system is now used by more than 120 large hospitals and 15,000 providers, including at UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s.

“For us, it’s about the electronic health records being useful for providers,” Cusick says. “This enables them to extract data they need for patient care decisions. We mirror normal workflows of nurses and doctors in the way they want to see information.”KEEPING AN EYE ON VALUE. From left, Nancy Giunto, executive director, Washington Health Alliance; Susie Dade, deputy director, Washington Health Alliance; and Marcos Dachary, director, product management, Milliman MedInsight.

A recent report from the Washington Health Alliance and Milliman MedInsight puts the spotlight on health care waste — the prescribing and use of unnecessary medical tests or procedures, which, in many cases, have the potential to cause physical, emotional or financial harm to patients. The report, titled “First, Do No Harm: Calculating Health Care Waste in Washington State,” found that an estimated $341 million was spent statewide on unnecessary health care services in one year — between July 2015 and June 2016.

Of nearly 3 million services examined during the period, 47 percent were defined as wasteful. Of the 2 million patients receiving one or more of 48 different services, half received care considered low-value or wasteful. Examples include annual cardiac screening for low-risk individuals and preoperative tests before low-risk procedures.

Employers, providers, patients and health care plans now have usable data, says alliance Executive Director Nancy Giunto. “Talking about waste is never easy,” Giunto acknowledges. “But the results from our ‘First, Do No Harm’ report help us to identify and quantify specific opportunities for reducing waste and potential harm to patients.”

More to the point: Washington is one of only three states to use MedInsight’s Health Waste Calculator to put a price tag on the overuse of medical procedures.

“We’re proud to create a data-driven path forward for providers, payers and purchasers,” says Marcos Dachary, director of product management at Milliman MedInsight, “so they can take actions that ultimately benefit consumers.”